It seems ironic that while this is undoubtedly an age where people are paying more attention to work-life balance than ever, they increasingly fall victim to “productivity hacks” to achieve it. While there are some amazing pieces of software out there, it should not surprise you to know that there are no shortcuts to increased productivity.

A recent study by the University of Cambridge of more than 21,000 workers found that employees who slept for six hours or less a night were significantly less productive than those who slept for seven or eight. People who had mental health issues, financial problems or no regular exercise regimen had almost as poor results.

This is worse if you are in an open office environment. The increased noise level they offer causes a similar increase in distraction, which lowers your overall productivity.

With that in mind, we’d like to make some suggestions to help you truly be more productive at work (no hacking required).

Go to Bed!

Sleep at the same time every night (even weekends!), at a time that you normally feel tired. This will help you get into a routine where your body is able to sleep soundly.

Ditch the Tech

Put your phone and laptop in another room before going to bed. If your phone is your alarm clock, make the alarm loud enough that you can hear it from bed. However – if you need an alarm, you haven’t gotten enough sleep. Try going to bed earlier.

Be One with Nature

White Noise will cancel out the ambient noise of any environment and is proven to help you focus. Check out Noisli for inspiration.

Go Solo

If it is an option for you, studies show that remote workers are more productive, especially for “creative” jobs.

There you have it – four surefire ways to increase your productivity at work.

What tips would you like to see? Let us know in the comments.